


Promises to Keep

by lockewrites



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 23:56:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17131121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lockewrites/pseuds/lockewrites
Summary: No matter the circumstances there is a series of words you will utter each time. A promise that is made. That will always be made.





	Promises to Keep

Severus Snape had been your best and only friend from a young age. You’d met when you were 5 after running off to explore, finding him by himself in a field. He was only a few months older than you were but he was already practicing magic. He tried to keep it from you but you knew he was like you, born to both a muggle and a witch. Your mother had come chasing after you finding you playing with Severus. She invited him to play with you any time he liked, and that was the start of your friendship.

It was also the start of frequent sleepovers. Quickly thereafter both of your parents realized how neglected Severus was at his own home. How he was left to do what he wanted and was stuck wearing ill-fitted clothes. Most of the time he came over he was treated not just as a guest, but as another member of the family. For the next few years it was simply the two of you, exploring Spinner’s End and discovering the extent of your magic abilities.

All that changed when you both turned nine. You hadn’t expected there to be another witches or wizards around, after all you hadn’t seen any your age. Severus, however, discovered Lily Evans, a witch at a playground one day. She was performing magic but when you confronted her about it she didn’t understand, she had been raised by Muggle’s. After explaining as well as a nine year old can that witches and wizards do exist, you and Severus found a new friend.

You were 11 when your Hogwarts letter came and you immediately ran to find Severus. His had come too, as had Lily’s you found out when you sought her. The three of you made immediate plans to sit together on the train and promised to be friends no matter what house you’d be sorted into. It was easier said then done. On the day you were set to leave you found a seat on the train for the three of you, but it wouldn’t just be the three of you. That would be the day you would meet James Potter and Sirius Black. They were brash and obnoxious according to you but you ignored them. They seemed particularly fond of trying to bother Severus.

After being taken to the Grand Hall you waited patiently for your turn to be sorted. Snape was quickly sorted into Slytherin but Lily joined Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat proclaimed you to be a Slytherin as well and you rushed to take a seat next to your friend. You knew he was saddened by the knowledge that the three of you wouldn’t be in the same house but you told him that a promise was a promise and the three of you would be friends.

“Besides, you will always have me, Severus”

And the promise was kept. No matter the circumstances or house rivalries the three of you stuck together. It didn’t matter that Potter and his friends were still immature and obnoxious because you and Lily would always stand up for Snape. But of course other friends were made, it couldn’t be helped, and so sometimes you weren’t able to be together all the time.

The years passed with little change until the time to take O.W.L’s rolled around. After class the three of you were supposed to meet by the lake to study. It was currently just you and Severus waiting for Lily to arrive. Unfortunately the Gryffindor’s who stumbled upon you were not the Gryffindor you were hoping. James Potter and his group of friends spotted the two of you, targeting Severus immediately. They called him names while James used magic to levitate Severus around in the air. You were trying to get them to stop, trying to get them to put him down but they wouldn’t listen, not to a Slytherin. Lily got them to stop however, got them to put Severus down. But by then it was too late. She was too late. And his anger burst forth before he could register what he was saying.

“I don’t need help from a Mudblood like you!”

Your eyes went wide. It wasn’t like Severus to ever say that about his friends. Before he could apologize she had stormed off. You turned to him, watching him go silent as his words finally registered.

“I didn’t mean it.”

“I know. Lily probably knows to. You were just angry. I’ll talk to her but remember, you will always have me, Severus”

Apologies weren’t enough, the trio was broken. Lily would never forgive Severus, no matter the amount of apologies or words from you. So it ended where it started with the two of you. You would remain by Severus’ side the next years at Hogwarts. Remain by his side after James Potter stopped Severus from encountering Lupin during his transformation. Remain by his side when he knew his life was indebted to James. Remain by his side when James and Lily began to date and when they got married.

The relationship between Lily, Severus and yourself was never the same. You heard about the wedding but were not invited. Neither was Severus. Both your heart and Severus’s broke. Yours because you knew your friendship with Lily was gradually dissipating, Severus’s because he still and would always love her.

Again you reminded him “you will always have me, Severus”

And he would. He would have you when he went to apply to teach at Hogwarts. When he learned of the prophecy from eavesdropping on an interview. When the two of you learned Lily was pregnant. He even told you, although he swore you to secrecy of his becoming a Death Eater. You were furious, but he was your friend and so you stood by and watched. 

You watched as he discovered that Voldemort believed Lily’s son Harry, not even a month old, was to be the child who fulfilled the prophecy. Watched and argued with him to denounce Voldemort and save Lily. Save the woman you knew he still loved. So he did, he told Dumbledore of Voldemort’s plan and in turn Lily, James and Harry went into hiding. You both thought they would be safe.

You were with him when he learned of Lily’s death. You witnessed the devastation in his eyes and saw him break. Everything you had believed about the Potter’s being safe, about your friend being safe, was gone. Rushing to Godric’s Hollow the two of you ran into the house and up the stairs to the nursery. She was lying on the floor, Harry crying in the crib. You rushed to grab him, to quiet him lest anyone else try and finish what it seemed Voldemort couldn’t do.

You left him alone in the room for a while. He had loved her, her needed time to grieve. When he returned to you at the bottom of the stairs he was silent. You didn’t say anything, just walked ahead and out the door. It was the two of you who handed Harry to Dumbledore. If it wasn’t to risky, you would have asked to raise the boy yourself. But he had family, even if Petunia and her husband were both Muggles they were the boys family.

Leaving to return to the safety of your own home you turned to face your closest friend, to utter the words that meant everything you couldn’t put into words at that moment.

“You will always have me, Severus”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to tumblr @locke-writes


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